


keep your eyes upon the skies

by hypocorism



Category: Hercules (1997), One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, almost no actual adherence to ancient greek religious practices, disney's hercules au, i promised my sister i would tell everyone to picture ben winston as the sundial guy, interpretation of fate is closer to mythology than the move, montages are the worst to write, no more than a vague flirtation with historical accuracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:36:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1916526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypocorism/pseuds/hypocorism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Disney's Hercules AU</p><p>Character List:<br/>Harry as Hercules<br/>Louis as Meg<br/>Liam as Phil<br/>Ashton & Calum as Pain & Panic<br/>Niall as Pegasus</p><p>The Fates:<br/>Eleanor as Atropos<br/>Sophia as Lachesis<br/>Perrie as Clotho</p><p>The Muses:<br/>Jon as Calliope<br/>Sandy as Thalia<br/>Dan as Melpomene<br/>Zayn as Clio<br/>Josh as Terpsichore</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seadust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seadust/gifts).



> I hope you like it!!! A billion thanks to my lovely betas (who I'll be linking after reveal).

Louis learned a long time ago that some people are just dealt a shit hand in life. That’s just the way it is, there’s no use crying over it or wishing things were different. All you can do is go forward.

When he’s summoned for the third time that week, though, Louis is close to going back on his own philosophy and throwing a full-blown temper tantrum.

“Get your grubby hands off my elbow, Panic. I know where I’m going,” he snaps.

“It’s Calum,” he says in his pouty-sad voice.

“Whatever,” Louis sneers. “Where’s your even more useless counterpart?”

“He’s busy. You’re not the most important thing around you know.” Louis is torn between ‘keep telling yourself that’ and ‘what does that say about my babysitters, then?,’ so he just stomps on Calum’s foot and then slips ahead of him into the throne room.

“You can’t expect quality work if you don’t let me get my beauty sleep. Can’t anyone else down here do anything?”

“Save it, Louis,” Hades snaps. So, it’s going to be one of those days, then. Louis resists the urge to ask why he’s been summoned to just sit around in the background and just raises his hands conciliatorily.

“The Fates have arrived,” Pain announces as he flings open the doors dramatically. Eleanor, Sophia, and Perrie trail in after him, all dressed in their formal robes. Louis catches Eleanor’s eye and tries to ask ‘What the hell is happening?’ using only his eyebrows, but she just shrugs and shakes her head.

“Ah, ladies. So lovely to see you,” Hades says in his slimy for-company voice. “Do sit down.” Eleanor slides into the proffered chair gracefully, her sisters falling into place behind her.

“For what purpose have you summoned us?” Which. Does she have to indulge him like this? Hades is already insufferable enough without faux-pompousness.

“I wish to beg a boon of you.” Louis gives up on not rolling his eyes. Eleanor inclines her head gracefully and gestures for Hades to continue. “As you know, I have been...somewhat unhappy with the way my brothers and I divided the duties that fell to us after the titans were imprisoned.”

“We are aware,” Sophia says, understated as always.

“I believe it’s time for a little reassessment. But,” Hades sighs sadly and reclines on his throne, “my brother, Zeus, is reluctant.” The Fates don’t respond. A flash of annoyance crosses Hades’ face before he’s all smooth charm again. “I won’t bore you with another rehash of old family drama. What I want from you is this,” he says, leaning forward intently. “Use your gift of prophecy to tell me how I might gain an advantage over my brother. Not to do him any harm or anything of the kind. Just to...level the playing field a bit.”

“The gods may request our prophesy whenever they choose,” Eleanor says coolly.

“I do. Request, that is,” Hades says with a shark-like grin. Eleanor nods and withdraws a small crystal eye from inside her robes. She gestures to Perrie and Sophia and they move to either side of her, linking hands. Eleanor tosses the eye and it lights up briefly before resting in the air above their foreheads.

“Eighteen years,” Eleanor says. “That will be the optimum time.”

“The key is the titans,” Sophia continues. “You must use the old power if you wish to overwhelm the new.”

“And that will allow me to defeat...uh, negotiate, I meant negotiate, with Zeus?”

“Don’t interrupt. But yes, that is what the eye has seen.” Hades starts doing some sort of odd victory dance.

“Wait,” Perrie says, and Hades freezes. “This new child of Zeus,’ do not forget to consider him. He may yet turn the balance in his father’s favor.” The eye flares again and then falls into Perrie’s outstretched hand. She tucks it away.

“What does that mean?” Hades whines.

“Interpreting fate is beyond our purview. We only foretell,” Sophia says sternly.

“And now we must be going. We have duties to attend to. Louis, if you would walk us out?” Eleanor continues. Hades waves at him dismissively.

“Thanks for that, Eleanor,” Louis snaps as the door closes behind them. “He’s going to be unbearable now.”

“I can’t refuse a god, Louis.”

“Couldn’t you lie, just a little?”

“We can’t change fate, we can only predict it.”

“Yeah, I know, I know. You’ve said.”

“And yet you keep asking,” she smiles.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“You know,” she says, stopping him with a hand on his arm, “Zeus could ask the same of us. Any of the pantheon could.”

“But they don’t.”

“No. Fate is easy to forget when you are a god.”

“Not so much when you are a human,” he says, wryly.

“I know this time seems long to you, Louis, but it will pass.”

“Three years is a long time,” he says, but she just shrugs. He supposes when you are thousands of years old three years really isn’t more than a blink. “Three years is an especially long time when you still have thirty left on your sentence.”

“Maybe if he succeeds he’ll let you off early.” Louis snorts but lets her catch up with her sisters. They all have duties to perform, after all; places to be, people to usher into a new realm, irritated underworld gods to appease.

When Louis gets back to the throne room, Hades looks downright cheerful. This is never a good sign.

“Louis, you can go for the day. Pain and Panic have it covered,” Hades says, sweeping out of the room.

“It’s Calum,” Panic mutters under his breath.

“So, what horrific nightmare of a plan have you two cooked up?”

“It’s actually really clever,” Pain says, sounding affronted.

“I’m sure it is,” Louis says sarcastically.

“We’re going to kill him!”

“That seems...extreme. Also, isn’t he a god? You know, immortal and all that?” Panic brandishes a bottle and grins.

“This will make him mortal!”

“That’s. Okay, yeah that could work. I mean, I guess even you two can handle a baby.”

“Just go home, Louis. We don’t need you for this.”

“Right, because I’m so keen to hang about for the infanticide. Good luck, I guess.”

“We won’t need it,” Pain says airily. Louis rolls his eyes.


	2. Long Ago...

Calum sticks close to his companion as they creep through the deserted halls of Olympus. According to instructions from Hades, the new baby’s bedchamber is two rooms over from Zeus and Hera’s. They know where they’re going and have a plan to get out quickly, now they just need to follow through.

They get to the room without incident and are leaning over the crib when an unforeseen complication arises.

“Why are there two babies?” Pain hisses.

“I don’t know,” Calum whispers back. “Should we just take them both?”

“We only have enough formula for Hercules!” One of the babies snuffles in his sleep and turns over, and the two men jump in surprise at the unexpected noise, quieting while they wait for him to settle. Pain starts jabbing the air excitedly after a minute, miming something.

“What?” Calum whispers. Pain glares at him and makes shushing motions. He points to a medallion one of the babies is wearing. It’s emblazoned with Zeus’ crest on one side and has HERCULES printed on the other. Convenient. Pain scoops up the baby and starts backing out of the room. Calum turns to follow him, but his foot catches on the pile of gifts left stacked near the door after the party that afternoon. They clatter and bang as the pile collapses, and the non-Hercules baby immediately wakes up and starts screaming.

“Run! Run!” Pain says, grabbing Calum’s arm and pulling him quickly down the halls and off the side of the mountain. He hears Zeus’ yell just as they reach the edge of Olympus, wings opening to catch the wind and baby dangling between them.

“Right, let’s get this done as quickly as possible. I don’t know if they followed us.” Calum nods and pops the bottle into the now-fussing baby’s mouth.

“Hurry up, hurry up,” he mutters.

“Who’s there?” a voice calls from around the corner just as Hercules finishes drinking. Calum grabs Pain’s arm and pulls him back into the shadows, out of sight of the two humans coming to investigate. The bottle falls and breaks, and neither of Hades’ minions notice the last lingering drop of formula clinging to the side.

“Snake form,” Pain whispers, as the humans coo and exclaim over the baby. “All we have to do now is finish him off.”

“Doesn’t this seem sort of harsh to you?”

“Look. It’s what Hades wants us to do. Do you want him to trust us with more complicated tasks or not?”

“I do.”

“Well. This was our plan. When we come back with a success this huge he’ll have no choice but to promote us. No more giving anything the slightest bit interesting to Louis.”

“You’re right. Sorry.”

“It’s...shit! They’re getting away! Hurry!” Pain slithers as quickly as possible over to the retreating humans, rearing up to sink his fangs into the newly mortal Hercules. The woman screams and clutches him closer to her body as Calum slinks up from the other side. She needn’t have worried about the baby. He grabs the two snakes and shakes them around before giggling and throwing them off into the distance.

The last thing Calum hears as he soars off is: “Is that normal for an infant?”

\---

The fates make their way slowly up the path to Olympus, Sophia in the lead for once. Normally, the middle fate quite enjoys the journey, but her sisters arguing behind her shatter the calm of the mountain view.

“I just think it’s important he know who is behind his son’s kidnapping.”

“Not unless he specifically asks about it, Perrie. You know the rules.”

“We gave Hades the key to dethroning Zeus! Don’t you care?”

“He asked for our prediction. We did no more or less than our duty.”

“I just don’t understand how you can be so _inflexible_.”

“Perrie,” Eleanor snaps, “do not overstep your bounds. I don’t want to hear you speak unless asked a direct question from now until we return to the underworld. Is that understood?” Perrie sets her jaw mulishly but gives a sharp nod.

She keeps an eye out for any opportunity to reveal Hades’ betrayal, but Zeus remains oblivious. He is focused only on finding his son as quickly as possible, dismissing them as soon as Eleanor reveals the location of the baby.

Perrie sneaks away as soon as she can, creeping back up onto the surface of the world. She has some sort of half-formed idea of running off to Olympus and trying to get Zeus to see her without her sisters, but it gets pushed to the back of her mind when she runs into someone just outside the underworld.

“Zayn?” she asks, surprised to see the muse.

“I was just coming to see you,” he says, grinning. “Everything’s sort of chaotic right now; I wanted to see how you guys were holding up.”

“Yeah,” Perrie sighs. “What are people saying up there?”

“Hera’s awfully upset. She’s asked the other muses and I to sort of keep an eye on Hercules, since he’s mortal now and can’t come back to Olympus.” Perrie perks up at this.

“That’s good. You five will keep him safe.” Zayn nods. “I should probably get back before they notice I’m gone,” she says reluctantly.

“Oh. Right. I’ll come see you soon, yeah?”

“I’d like that.” She smiles and waves a little before turning and running back to her chamber.


	3. Go the Distance

Hercules, or Harry as he prefers to be called, doesn’t _try_ to destroy things. It just kind of happens when he’s around. You would think that, after eighteen years, he would be used to being stronger than the average person. He would be able to help his mother hang something on the walls without nearly knocking the entire house over, or pull weeds in the garden for his father without accidentally uprooting whole sections of innocent vegetables. Unfortunately, his desire to be helpful almost always has the opposite effect.

Harry is at the market with Amphitryon, his father, when he once again gets himself into trouble. It starts innocently enough. Some boys he vaguely knows are tossing a discus around, joking and laughing. Harry doesn’t have a lot of friends his own age, or any, really. The neighborhood kids all started avoiding him when he was around six and one too many playdates ended with broken toys and holes in the wall. He keeps trying to make friends, though, hoping that one day his charm and eagerness to please will win them over.

The discus lands at his feet as he waits for Amphitryon to haggle with a shopkeeper and Harry perks up.

“Want me to throw it back?” he calls to the crowd of boys.

“Uh. That’s okay. I’ve got it,” one of them responds, picking it up.

“Do you guys need another player?”

“Nah. We have...five already. We want to keep it, like, odd.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, see you.” The boys walk away and Harry pretends he doesn’t hear them laughing and doesn’t see them glancing back at him. He shifts uncomfortably against the wall and fights the urge to go in after his father. The vendors don’t like him to come inside after that time he tried to help an urn seller adjust a teetering pot and inadvertently destroyed his entire stock.

The discus throwers return to their game and Harry stares at them longingly. It’s frustrating, sometimes, not being _normal_. Not being able to hang out with people other than his parents and some of their more sympathetic neighbors. He likes his strength on occasion, like when their elderly donkey is feeling sick or cranky and Harry can take over plowing the field or pulling the cart to the market. Or--Harry perks up as the discus slips past one of the boys and whirls toward him--when he is doing something athletic.

“I’ll get it!” he calls, running forward and holding out his hands. He’s so focused on catching the thing that he doesn’t notice he’s headed right for one of the columns that supports the market. The discus slots into his hand just as he slams into the pillar and Harry’s brief moment of triumph is cut short as the market starts to collapse around them.

People scream and rush out of the shops as Harry darts back and forth, trying to right the columns before they fall. It’s of no use, he’s not fast enough.

\---

“What happened?” his mother, Alcmene, calls as they arrive back from the market, empty handed.

“Me. Again,” Harry says bitterly.

“It’s wasn’t your fault, Harry. Those boys shouldn’t have been playing so close. There is a perfectly good field south of the market.”

“It _was_ my fault, dad. Just stop, okay?”

“Harry, your father is just...”

“I know. I know you two love me even though I’m a freak.”

“Harry! No.”

“Mom. Just leave it, okay? I’m going to my room.”

“Do you think it’s time to tell him?” Amphitryon asks quietly.

Alcmene sighs and turns to her husband.

“We did say when he turned eighteen. But, he still seems so young to me, and I want to keep him safe. Who knows what sort of effect this could have?”

“True.”

“Then again, it might help him find some sort of sense of belonging.”

“It might. It’s up to you, dear.” She gives him a look.

“I have to make all the hard decisions, is that it?” Amphitryon just smiles at her.

\---

Harry is still subdued at dinner, poking at his fish and barely touching the mashed beans.

“Aren’t you hungry? I made your favorites.”

“Sorry. Just not feeling very well, I guess.” Alcmene sighs and sets her bread down.

“Darling, your father and I have something we want to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” he says listlessly.

“Harry. This is important. It’s about your birth parents.” His head snaps up.

“You never want to talk about my birth parents.”

“I know.”

“Last time I asked you about them, you cried and told me not to mention it again.”

“I know,” she says impatiently. “Just listen, all right.” He nods and gestures for her to continue. She gets up from the table and collects a small wrapped package from the kitchen. “As you know, we found you when you were only a baby. We were so happy...you can’t know how happy you have made us, Harry,” she says, tearing up a little.

“Mom,” he surges up out of his seat and comes over to crouch beside her, “I know. I love you guys. I’m so happy you’re my parents. You don’t have to talk about this if it’s going to upset you.” Alcmene shakes her head and takes a deep breath.

“It’s all right, Harry. It’s time. As you know, we found you and took you in. We considered not telling you, but we wanted to be honest with you. We wanted you to have the option to eventually discover more about your past. But, and I hope you aren’t too angry about this, we decided to wait until you were eighteen to tell you the full story. My priority has always been to keep you safe, sweetie.”

“I know that, mom.” She smiles down at him and brushes some of his hair behind his ear.

“You’ve always been so good to us. Such a good son. But you also don’t feel like you fit in here, I know that.” He looks down. “No, it’s all right. I understand. What I’m trying to say is this. I knew, once we told you the full story of how we found you, that you would want to go charging after an explanation. And I wasn’t ready to lose my baby. I’m not really ready now, but.”

“You’ll never lose me, though.” She smiles sadly down at him but doesn’t respond. Amphitryon clears his throat.

“Open it,” Alcmene says, pushing the package into Harry’s hand. He carefully unwraps a large, solid-looking medallion.

“It’s got my name on it,” he says, confused.

“It was around your neck when we found you,” Amphitryon supplies. “That’s where you got the name Hercules from.”

“But you never liked it,” Alcmene smiles. “It was a lot for you to manage as a baby.”

“And we always thought we’d name our son Harry, if we had one,” Amphitryon adds.

“You do have one,” Harry says firmly. Alcmene pulls him into a brief hug before turning the medallion over in his hand.

“Zeus’ crest?” he asks, confused.

“We aren’t entirely sure what it means,” Alcmene says hesitantly.

“But it’s a start,” Amphitryon adds. “We found you quite close to the temple just south of Mount Olympus. It’s something to go on, at least. Right?” Harry looks hesitantly between his mother and father.

“I know,” Alcmene sighs. “You want to go. Right this minute, if possible.”

“Mom,” he says softly.

“It’s all right, Harry. I knew you would leave eventually.”

“I’ll be back. As soon as I can, I promise.”

“I know, sweetie. I know.” He grins up at her, pulling her in quickly for a hug before dashing off to grab some clothes.

“He’ll come back,” Amphitryon says hesitantly. Alcmene smiles at him sadly, then goes to put together a bag of food for Harry to take with him.

\---

“Can you believe how long it took them to tell him?” Sandy asks, kicking his heels against the wall they’re perched on.

“They didn’t want their baby boy to leave home,” Dan responds. “I get it.” Jon shushes them.

“It’s not like he can hear us, unless we want him to,” Josh points out.

“You’re supposed to be focusing. He’s finally doing something exciting after eighteen years and I can’t even pay attention because you three won’t shut up,” Jon snaps.

“How come Zayn never gets in trouble,” Sandy mutters.

“Because Zayn doesn’t talk when I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Yeah but he sneaks off all the time when we’re supposed to be watching the kid,” Sandy argues.

“I do not!”

“Yeah you do. I’ve seen you slink off to the underworld at least four times this month. I can’t imagine why, though. It’s so gloomy and boring down there.” Fortunately for Zayn, no one notices him blushing: they’re all distracted by Jon physically covering Sandy’s mouth to shut him up.

“Next person to talk is stuck inspiring budding pre-teen poets for the next year.”


	4. One Last Hope

Harry arrives at the temple after dusk the next day. He’s tired from walking and a bit grubby from having slept outside, but he’s eager to see if there are any clues to his past hidden in the temple. Unfortunately, this late at night there is no one there to ask about the medallion. He sighs and settles in for an uncomfortable night sleeping on the temple floor.

“O Zeus,” he prays quietly, “please guide me on my quest. Help me to discover my past. I know you probably have other things to worry about but...” He cuts off abruptly as he hears grinding and then a loud boom behind him. Harry leaps up and whirls around to see the enormous statue of Zeus... _moving_.

“Hercules,” the statue says. Harry screams and starts running for the exit, but one enormous hand reaches out and scoops him up.

“Slow down, son. Is that any way to greet your father?”

“My...what?” Harry is bewildered and very high in the air.

“Your father! Didn’t those foster parents of yours tell you anything?”

“Uh.” The statue waves impatiently, which has the unfortunate side effect of knocking Harry off his feet from where he is still cupped in one gigantic hand.

“Sorry about that. They make these statues far too large. When you were born, I put my crest around your neck to mark you as my son.” Harry holds up the medallion and Zeus peers at it closely.

“Yes, that’s it. Didn’t you ever wonder where it came from?”

“Well my par...my foster parents didn’t tell me about it. Not until a few days ago, that is.”

“Mortals,” Zeus harrumphs.

“They did their best,” Harry says, trying to hide his annoyance. He figures thirty feet off the ground and in the palm of a god is not the place to pick a fight. Zeus softens slightly.

“I’m sure they did.”

“Why did they have to, though?” Harry asks hesitantly. “Why didn’t I grow up on Olympus, with you?” Zeus furrows his eyebrows angrily.

“You were taken from us. We still don’t know who kidnapped you, or why, but by the time we found you it was too late to bring you home.”

“Why?”

“They turned you mortal,” Zeus spits out. “Only gods can live on Olympus. When your immortality was stolen from you, you became...not human, exactly. But you are no longer a god.”

“So I can’t come home,” Harry states sadly.

“Don’t give up hope so easily, son. There is still something you can do.”

“What?” Harry perks up. “I’ll do anything.” Zeus smiles fondly down at him.

“That’s my boy. The gods, we still have to operate under certain rules, and the laws defining godhood are very strict. The magic used to transform you was very old, and very powerful, and it can only be undone from within.”

“What does that mean?”

“In order to become a god, you must first become a hero. Only by proving yourself a true hero on Earth can you be restored to your rightful place as my son.”

“How do I do that, though? Become a hero.”

“Go and find Liam. He will train you.” Harry nods eagerly and stands up, nearly toppling to his death in the process.

“Oops. Forgot how high up I was.”

“That’s all right, son,” Zeus chuckles. “You aren’t ready to go just yet, though.” He sets Harry down gently at the feet of the statue. “I’ve summoned someone to serve as a companion and to help you pass whatever trials Liam sees fit to give you.” A man pokes his head out from the back part of the temple, waving and grinning before stepping into view. “I don’t suppose you remember your cousin?” Harry furrows his brow and tries to think, but everything before his parents found him is an indistinct blur.

“No. Sorry.”

“That’s fine. This is Niall. He’ll show you the way. Remember. Become a true hero, and you can come home,” the statue stills and fades slowly until it is only stone again.

“Well,” Harry says after a moment. “It’s nice to meet you again. I guess it’s nice I don’t have to try and find this guy by myself. I’d probably end up sailing off the edge of the world by accident.” Niall laughs and claps him on the back.

\---

“I think this is the place,” Niall whispers.

“Really,” Harry also whispers, a little dubiously. “It’s kind of,” _a dump_ “chaotic. And where is everyone?”

“I’m pretty sure he lives alone. Toward the other side of the island.”

“Why are we whispering then?”

“I don’t know. It seemed appropriate.”

“What are you two doing sneaking around my island,” someone snaps from behind them. Harry whirls around.

“I thought you said he was on the other side,” he mutters. Niall shrugs.

“Well?” the man snaps.

“Are you Liam?” Harry says, tentatively. Probably-Liam just glares at him. It’s a little intimidating, he’s nearly as tall as Harry and looks like he could probably bench-press Niall with barely any effort.

“I did hear from Jason that he had a menacing beard,” Niall says at a volume that seems to indicate he isn’t too worried about being bench-pressed.

“Jason sent you?” Liam says, looking even angrier. _You have super strength._ Harry thinks, in an attempt to pep himself up. _You will totally come out of this encounter alive. Probably._

“Nope. We don’t know Jason, not at all.”

“Actually, I met him a couple…”

“Niall,” Harry hisses, poking him.

“But no, he didn’t send us. Zeus sent us.” Liam raises an eyebrow.

“It’s true, this is his son.”

“He’s sort of scrawny to be Zeus’ kid.”

“Well, that’s where you come in!” Harry says brightly. “I need you to train me to be a true hero!”

“No.” Liam turns around and starts walking away. Harry’s face falls.

“Wait!” Niall yells. “He can do stuff!” Both Liam and Harry give him a weird look. He just gives Harry the ‘go on’ hands.

“Um. I’m really strong?” Niall nods encouragingly. Liam snorts and continues walking.

“Harry! Lift the giant pillar!” Niall yells.

“Niall, I don’t think this is working.”

“You can do it!” Niall cheers, jumping up and down. Harry sighs and hefts the pillar, lifting it slowly to avoid accidentally knocking Niall over. Liam, hearing the groan of the marble as Harry pulls it loose from the weeds and dirt, turns around and watches him. He looks slightly impressed, although still a little skeptical.

“Fine,” he sighs, “put the pillar back where you found it and come sit down.”

“Yay!” Niall cheers. Harry clips him with the stone in his haste to comply, but fortunately Niall grins and shakes it off and Liam doesn’t notice.

\---

“Look, you seem like a nice enough kid, but my days of training heroes are over.”

“Why?” Harry asks, curious.

“What do you see when you look around here?”

“Um.”

“Junk.”

“Niall,” Harry hisses.

“No, it’s fine. He’s right. It’s a lot of junk, the remnants of my past. When I was younger, all I wanted was to train a great hero. I wanted to be remembered as someone with wisdom and discernment. I’ve had some promising trainees in the past, but they all ultimately failed.”

“I could be the one, though,” Harry says eagerly. “Won’t you just give it one more go?” But Liam is already shaking his head.

“I’ve just been disappointed too many times, kid.”

“How am I going to ever go home without your help, though?” Harry pouts tragically, and Liam starts to cave a little.

“Yeah,” Niall adds, doubling down on the puppy eyes. Liam looks like he is wavering for a minute, but then he shakes his head again.

“I’m retired, sorry. Only a direct order from Zeus could get me to change my mind.” Liam has barely stopped speaking before lightning forks out of the clear sky and strikes a tree right in front of his house. Niall claps his hands and Harry grins. Liam sighs through his nose.

“Fine. But my rules, okay kid? If you give me any attitude, you’re out.”

“Yes! Definitely,” Harry nods excitedly.

“And I’m not training your boyfriend.”

“He’s actually my cousin.”

“I’ll just cheerlead.” Niall says at the same time.

“Whatever. As long as you stay out of the way.” Niall and Harry jump up and hug each other while Liam mutters something about ‘childlike joy.’

\---

Watching someone else train is really boring. Niall loves his cousin and he totally supports his goal to return home, but he also sort of wants to bash his own head in so he doesn’t have to hear Liam yell “Go again! Shave off those seconds!” one more time. He thinks he can be forgiven for ducking out of training on day twenty-five or so to explore the island.

To his surprise, he actually runs in to another person about ten minutes away from the training field.

“I didn’t know anyone else lived here. Are you a friend of Liam’s?”

“Nah,” the guy looks around and then leans in with a smile. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure,” Niall says slowly.

“Good. Because none of you are technically supposed to know we’re here. Zeus asked the muses to look out for Harry.”

“You’re a muse?”

“The muse of dance, to be specific, but most people just call me Josh.”

“I’m Niall. Wait, so you’ve been here the whole time?” Josh nods.

“With Harry since he was a baby. Well, usually just one of us at a time, we do have other things we need to do. But it’s a way for Zeus to keep tabs on his son without interfering too much.”

“So Harry’s not supposed to know?” Josh shrugs.

“Now that he knows about the whole Zeus-is-his-father thing it doesn’t matter as much.”

“Oh. So I’m supposed to tell him?”

“If you want,” Josh says, confused.

“I’m just trying to figure out why you’re talking to me. I’m not really a dancer.” Josh laughs.

“Just wanted to say hello. You seem like an interesting guy. Come out here again if you get bored and want to chat.” The muse winks and then disappears.

Niall grins at the empty air and then makes his way back to the training ground. This island just got a little bit more interesting.


	5. The Big Olive

“I don’t think I need to emphasize again how important this is, Louis.” Louis picks at his nails to show Hades how disinterested he is. The god may own his soul but he doesn’t own his attention or his respect. “Louis!”

“I know, I remember. The river guardian is extra super vital to your plan to conquer Olympus.”

“After twenty-one years with you, I can actually identify sarcasm.”

“Impressive.”

“Do I need to remind you of the consequences of disobeying me,” Hades hisses. Louis straightens up and purses his lips.

“No,” he snaps. “I’ll get the river guardian. Consider it done.” Hades harrumphs, but waves to dismiss him.

“How did it go?” Perrie chirps as he leaves the throne room. Louis jumps.

“Why does everyone down here move so quietly,” he snaps.

“Sorry.” Perrie looks crushed and Louis instantly feels bad.

“You just surprised me. Sorry for snapping at you.” He sighs. “It went fine. Same old, same old. Yet another monster to acquire using my dubious charms.” Perrie giggles.

“You are plenty charming, Louis.”

“I know,” he smirks.

“So,” Perrie shifts a little. “Did he say anything, uh, new?”

“No,” Louis says slowly. “What do you mean? He really only has the one hobby: plotting to dethrone Zeus.” She laughs a little nervously.

“Yeah, definitely. So he didn’t mention H…”

“Perrie, there you are.” The youngest fate jumps as her sister’s hand lands on her shoulder.

“Eleanor! I was just looking for you. See you later, Lou.”

“Yeah, okay,” he says, puzzled. Eleanor gives him a tight smile and then leads Perrie away, hand clasped tightly on her elbow.

\---

The river guardian is a giant dick. Louis has dealt with his share of pushy monsters, gods, humans, etc, but this guy is particularly persistent. Louis is breathing heavily through his nose and contemplating just punching Nessus in the throat and leaving when he hears someone shout.

“Unhand the gentleman!” _What._ The centaur snorts and peers down at the young man who has seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

“Get lost, kid.”

“No,” he says firmly, then turns to look at Louis. “Don’t worry, I’m going to rescue you.” Louis tries not to roll his eyes.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“But,” the ‘hero’ furrows his brow adorably, “aren’t you in distress?”

“That’s one way of putting it. But I’ve got it under control. You can move along and rescue someone who actually needs it.”

“But,” he says again. Nessus, not the most patient of creatures, grunts and charges at him. The kid fumbles to pull out his sword, and Louis sighs heavily. These heroes get worse every year. Nessus knocks the sword out of his hand easily, still managing to hold Louis aloft in one giant arm.

“It’s really fine,” Louis says loudly. “I’ve got this under control.” No one listens to him. The centaur and the would-be hero keep fighting. Or, more accurately, they keep circling each other and occasionally lunging. Louis is starting to get a bit nauseated from where he’s swinging around in the air when the kid yells and runs straight at Nessus, slamming his head into the centaur’s chest and sending him flying backwards. Fortunately, he drops Louis before he bangs into the rock face and falls over unconscious. Unfortunately, this means Louis gets water up his nose and in his eyes. He surfaces, coughing and sputtering as the kid stares at him and wrings his hands anxiously.

“Oops.”

“Really, thanks for that. Very effective.”

“I’m sorry you got all wet.”

“Yeah, whatever. You’ve done your hero thing or whatever, kid. Now get moving.” This comes out less cutting and sarcastic than Louis wanted it to as he is still wheezing and spitting up water every few words.

“Harry,” the kid says hesitantly. “Well, Hercules, actually, but Harry for short. Or, not _for short_ exactly, but everyone calls me Harry.”

“Right. So glad I know that.” Louis glances down at the (fortunately clean) water to fix his hair.

“What’s your name?”

“Louis.”

“That’s a nice name.”

“What do you want, kid?”

“Nothing,” he says quickly. “I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. There’s a lot of bad stuff out here. It’s dangerous to travel alone.”

“Aren’t you?” Louis raises his eyebrows.

“What? Oh! No. I have companions,” he grins and gestures behind him. Louis looks up and notices an unimpressed looking man who is almost as muscular as this Harry guy and a pouting blonde.

“Right.”

“Guys, come meet Louis.” They both look about as happy about this as Louis feels.

“This is Liam, my trainer. And this is my friend, Niall.”

“Great to meet you. Look, I better get going.”

“You can travel with us!” Harry says brightly. Niall elbows him but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“I’m good,” Louis says drily. Harry’s face falls. “See you around, kid. Good luck with that whole hero thing.”

“Thanks!” He might keep talking after that but Louis tunes it out and walks away. He really needs to start thinking of an excuse for Hades. Sure enough, less than a minute after Louis is out of view of Harry and his merry band, Hades appears, flanked by his two loyal minions.

“Good news, I presume,” Hades says, grinning.

“Sorry. No luck.”

“I emphasized time and again how important this is.”

“I did my best!”

“Clearly, you didn’t. It’s like you don’t want to be released from your contract.”

“You know that’s not true,” Louis snaps. “It wasn’t my fault. Some so-called hero showed up and ruined the whole thing.”

“Right. And since when has that stopped you?”

“It’s sort of hard to charm someone when they’re unconscious. This Harry kid, or Hercules, whatever his name is, is so full of it, too. He was acting like….”

“Wait,” Hades says, his voice deadly serious. “What did you just say?” Pain and Panic are shifting nervously behind him and making pleading eyes at Louis

“This kid was clearly barely out of training,” Louis starts, confused.

“No, what was the name?” Hades interrupts.

“Harry? Or Hercules? I don’t know, he didn’t even seem to be sure of that, to be honest. Why?” Panic suddenly lunges off to the side and takes off running, but Hades snakes out a hand lighting-fast and grabs him. The god towers over the two cowering minions, suddenly terrifying.

“And why does that name sound familiar, hmm?”

“It’s a common name?” Pain says timidly.

“You two better have an earth-shatteringly amazing explanation for this.”

“We lost him! I’m sorry! He got away right at the last minute!” Panic blurts. Pain glares at him before swinging his attention back to Hades.

“He drank almost all the formula, though! That means he’s mortal now, at least. Right? So it’s not a total loss.” Hades continues to glare at them, but he looks thoughtful. Louis sighs to himself. Hades angry and plotting is never good for Louis.

“I’m going to give you two an opportunity to fix this. But,” he looms over them again, “this is your last shot.”

\---

Louis breaks his general resolution of never talking to Pain and Panic as soon as they are back in the underworld. They’re crossing the Styx, Hades fuming silently in the bow of the boat and the three of them sitting quietly in the back like scolded children. Louis knows Hades is being purposely dramatic. He can pretty much transport all four of them wherever he wants instantly. They only use this entrance when Hades wants to make a point about how powerful he is, to remind them of the consequences of ignoring his will. The last time it happened was over three years ago, so Louis really wants to know what set him off so suddenly.

“Who’s Hercules?” He whispers to Panic. Panic just makes frantic shushing motions and gestures to Hades. Louis rolls his eyes and leans across him to whisper the same thing to Pain.

“Zeus’ son,” Pain says, through pursed lips.

“Zeus has a son? I thought his only kid…Oh.” Pain nods tightly and Louis sits back as a lot of things start clicking into place. The prophecy, the plan to eliminate the only possible snag in Hades’ plot, the fact that, apparently, Hercules is still alive. Interesting.

“Since useless and more useless have failed to eliminate the _one threat_ to my otherwise flawless plan, we are going to have to do some damage control,” Hades says after he’s corralled them all into the throne room for plotting purposes. Panic nods eagerly, ready to get back on Hades’ good side by any means necessary. “I’m sending you two to do some reconnaissance on this Harry. Figure out what his goal is in Thebes. Don’t screw this up. This is your last chance.”

“We’re on it,” Pain says confidently, steering Panic out of the room quickly when Hades dismisses them.

“You,” he says, eyes snapping to Louis. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten your little screw up.”

“It wasn’t my fault!”

“It never is, is it? Just don’t do it again. You’re on very thin ice here, Louis.” Louis has to literally bite his tongue to not snap back, but he stays silent and nods tightly.

Pain and Panic pop back into view at the end of the room, hustling over eagerly.

“That was fast,” Hades says, skeptical.

“He’s walking all over town talking about how he is the hero Thebes needs.” Louis rolls his eyes. That sounds like pretty typical talk for an over-muscled, thoughtless Greek youth. Hades clenches his fist.

“Attempting the path of the true hero to restore his godhood. Well, that should be easy enough to derail.”

\---

Louis takes a deep breath, letting his pretty-but-generally-useless persona settle into place. His job is simple, here: get Harry to follow him to the gorge where a disguised Pain and Panic are waiting to be ‘rescued.’ Get back on Hades’ good side.

“Help! Someone, help me!” He yells, conveniently close to Harry and his friends. Harry’s entire body perks up and he whirls around.

“Louis?”

“Harry! Thank goodness I found you!” He hopes he isn’t laying it on too thick. While Harry doesn’t seem suspicious, his friend, Niall, is glaring. Louis hopes this Niall guy is actually just a friend. A boyfriend is almost definitely going to complicate things.

“Are you in trouble?” Harry asks, concerned.

“It’s not me. It’s two little boys. They were playing in a gorge and a rockslide trapped them! I need someone strong to move the rocks.” Louis is internally rolling his eyes at himself with that line, but Harry eats it up.

“I can do it!” He says grinning. “This is great! I mean. Uh. It’s awful those kids are trapped, obviously. But,” he turns to Liam, “this is my chance to prove myself! Let’s go! Lead the way, Louis.”

When they get there, Louis sees he isn’t the only one using this opportunity to hone his acting skills. Panic is just sort of whimpering sadly but Pain is gasping dramatically and exclaiming.

“I hope we don’t _suffocate_ before someone rescues us! This is such a large rock and we are only small children!”

“Has anyone called IX-I-I?” Panic yells, after Pain elbows him.

“Don’t worry,” Harry shouts down to them, “I’m here to rescue you!”

“Thank _goodness_.” Pain is really hamming it up here. When Harry manages to lift the huge rock blocking the minions in and toss it away with barely any effort, Louis is reluctantly impressed. He seems like an okay kid. He’s grinning, bent over to talk to the ‘children’ at their level, making sure they aren’t scared. It’s too bad Harry’s caught up in the middle of all this, it really is, but Louis doesn’t have the time or the freedom to be sympathetic.

“I’ll make sure they get home safely,” he says, grabbing Pain and Panic by the hand to lead them off.

“Oh. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“No, that’s okay,” Panic says quickly. “Uh. He knows our mom.” Louis closes his eyes, hoping Harry is gullible enough to accept this clear lie.

“If you’re sure,” he says slowly.

“They’re fine, Harry.” Niall says, exasperated.

“Well, I’ll see you around, I guess?” Harry says shyly, smiling softly at Louis. _No time._

“Yeah. I’ll see you.” He waves awkwardly, still holding on to Panic’s hand.

As soon as they are out of sight, Hades transports them to the rocky overhang where he’s waiting.

“Nice job, boys.” Louis tunes out of the rest, focusing on Harry’s distant form. _Get moving, Harry._ He wills silently. _Stay alive another day._

Harry doesn’t move. He’s apparently talking to his friends down in the gorge, because the three of them are still just standing there when the hydra starts to stir. Niall and Liam back away slowly as Harry reaches for his sword. Oh well. He was nice while he lasted.


	6. Zero to Hero

Harry tries to hold still as Liam bandages his torso, but he’s vibrating with energy.

“Did you see me out there?”

“Hold still.”

“It was amazing! Best fight I’ve ever seen!” Niall yells. Liam shushes him and glares.

“When that first head split into three, I thought I was done for.”

“But then you got right back into it! The thing with the rocks was genius!”

“Thanks, Niall!”

“Will you two be quiet,” Liam snaps. “I am trying to help you heal quickly but it won’t work if you don’t _sit still_.”

“Sorry,” they chorus. But, then Niall starts making faces behind Liam’s back so their resolution doesn’t last very long.

The next few weeks blur by. After his brilliant showing with the hydra, he’s quite in demand to eliminate monsters, villains, and various other pests. With each successive triumph come more and more requests for help, and more and more fame. Harry’s name becomes practically a byword for heroism around Thebes. What Harry didn’t expect when he set out to make a place for himself and prove himself a true hero, though, is how lucrative the business is. He has more money than he knows what to do with, even after buying his parents a new house and chariot and paying for his own estate.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean he has succeeded in his original quest. Harry has yet to be deemed a ‘true hero’ by his father. He still can’t go home.

At least he can talk to his father as much as he wants. The journey to the nearest temple isn’t that long, and Zeus always answers when Harry shows up.

“So, yeah. That’s the story of what happened with the whole belt thing. The reports were greatly exaggerated, obviously.”

“It sounds like it,” Zeus says, amused. “I have to say, your mother will be relieved.”

“That’s good.” Harry pauses for a minute. “Any more advice on the whole…reversing the curse thing?” Zeus sighs sadly.

“I’m sorry, Harry. I can’t tell you exactly what will restore you to godhood. It’s up to you to figure that out. It wouldn’t work otherwise.”

“No, I get that.”

“I have confidence in you, son. You are smart, and you have a good heart.” Harry beams.

“I’ll keep trying. It’s nice that I’m able to help so many people with my strength. That was never really something I had, before.” Zeus nods.

“I’m needed back on Olympus, but I’ll speak to you again soon.”

“All right,” Harry starts, but Zeus is already gone and the statue is only stone once again.

\---

A completely unexpected aspect of Harry’s new fame are the people he has had to hire to keep his newly minted fans out of his house. He doesn’t really need physical protection, so their job mainly involves a lot of herding. Most of the fans are polite enough to stick to the public signings he does or watch him fight, but some insist on trespassing. He’s never quite sure what to do about it, but Liam has no problem calling security or just glaring at the Thebans until they apologize and leave. Harry usually sheepishly agrees to sign a few things while they’re waiting to be led out. Niall thinks it’s hilarious. Harry does too, normally. After having seen his father earlier that day and learning that he’s no closer to home than he was a month ago, he isn’t finding it so funny.

Liam’s booked Harry in to sit for a portrait that is for some new building or something. Harry sort of lets him control his schedule; Liam is much better at it than Harry is. He’s regretting that decision at the moment. Liam is pacing around him, reeling off appearance after appearance as Harry seethes in an uncomfortably contrived pose. The artist barks insults at him every time he moves the tiniest bit and Niall’s disappeared (again) with his new muse boyfriend.

After nearly forty minutes of ‘hold completely still no don’t even breathe I can’t paint under these conditions’ and ‘next we have six vase signings and then I’ve heard about this new monster nearby but make sure you kill it in under an hour,’ Harry snaps.

“Right,” he says, shrugging off the heavy lion skin and dropping his sword, “I’m out.”

“Harry,” Liam says, exasperated. Harry just leaves, walking back to his room and collapsing on the bed. He’ll feel guilty later but for now, he just wants to be alone.

“Hey,” someone whispers. Harry nearly falls off the bed but fortunately manages to check his instinctive urge to punch the intruder.

“Louis?”

“Do you know how hard it is to sneak in here?” Louis says quietly.

“That’s on purpose,” Harry whispers back, starting to grin in spite of his earlier frustration.

“I bet you know the fastest way out. We could escape without getting spotted.”

“I should really get back to work,” Harry mutters, reluctance clear in his voice.

“Come on. Take the day off, kid. Be irresponsible for once.” Harry looks back toward Liam, biting his lip and thinking. One day probably won’t make that big of a difference, right? He needs a break and if a cute guy just so happens to be involved, all the better.

“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.” Louis grins and grabs his hand.

Harry tries not to giggle and give them away as he leads Louis around the building and out the back.

“You’re quite practiced at this,” Louis whispers as they wait for one of the guards to pass by. “Sneak out a lot?”

“Shh. And no, this is my first time.” They dart across the hall and out the back. “Where to now?” Louis looks sort of shy, suddenly.

“I thought we could maybe go to the theater? We don’t have to,” he adds, quickly.

“No. That sounds fun,” Harry grins. “I haven’t really gotten to see much of Thebes since I got here. Well, except for, you know, monsters and stuff.” Louis laughs and tugs on his hand.

“Follow me, then.”


	7. I Won't Say (I'm in Love)

Louis is starting to think he’s seriously screwed. Harry is on a whole new level of charming, and Louis hasn’t managed to stop smiling for two minutes together since they snuck out. If they had met earlier, or under different circumstances…but there isn’t any point thinking about that now. His job is to find Harry’s weakness, that’s it. So what if Harry’s the nicest guy he’s ever met, or if he thinks they could be seriously great together? Hades has made it very clear: find out how to eliminate Harry as a threat, get your freedom back. He’s so focused on his thoughts that he trips over an unevenness in the stone, nearly tumbling down the garden stairs. Fortunately, Harry catches him before he falls. This gives Louis an idea.

“Oops. I’m so clumsy sometimes. Weak ankles, you know?” Harry nods seriously and helps him sit on a bench. “Do you have any problems like that?” Louis winces at how obvious this sounds, but Harry looks thoughtful rather than suspicious.

“No, not really. I used to be really clumsy, but it was mostly a balance thing. Training with Liam helped with that.”

“Right. So no…trick knee? Shoulder problems? Nothing like that?”

“No,” Harry says slowly. “Sorry.” Louis laughs.

“I guess you really are perfect.” He says this mostly to diffuse the tension, thinking it will make Harry puff up with pride and start talking about himself. Surprisingly, though, Harry looks sad.

“I’m really not.”

“Sure you are, kid. You’re strong, you’re famous, and everyone loves you.”

“No they don’t,” Harry says sharply. “They can’t, can they? They don’t actually know me. It’s just like…they have this empty image of me, right? I got into this because I wanted to find a place that I fit in, a way to _help_ people with they way I’m different, rather than mess things up for everyone.”

“And you don’t feel like you’re doing that?”

“I don’t know,” Harry says, looking down at his feet. “It’s just really lonely sometimes, I guess. I’m starting to feel like everything is more about me living up to this image people have of me than anything else.”

“I get that,” Louis says quietly. “It’s awful, isn’t it? Feeling trapped by the expectations people have of you, not having the freedom to live your own life or make your own choices.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Harry says, sounding surprised.

“You don’t have to live for anyone but yourself, Harry.” _You still have a choice,_ Louis thinks.

“Thanks. You’re a good listener, Louis. I just, I feel like I can be myself with you.”

“That’s good,” Louis says dully. Why does Harry have to be so _genuine_?

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis smiles at him. “Just thinking about some things.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Not really. Just, be careful, Harry. You trust so easily, some people would try and take advantage of that.” Harry shrugs and smiles like someone who has never been betrayed.

“You wouldn’t, though.” And in that moment, funnily enough, Harry is right. Keeping him smiling, unbroken by life and all it’s myriad disappointments, seems more important than anything else. Protecting Harry seems worth more than having the freedom to get back to his own, utterly empty, life. Louis opens his mouth to say as much when a chariot suddenly bursts into the garden, driven by Niall and carrying an irate Liam.

“Party’s over, Harry, back to training with you. Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you, either. You’ve missed an entire day of workouts and commitments.” Liam keeps lecturing in the background but Louis and Harry tune him out.

“Thanks for everything,” Harry says quietly. He plucks a flower and hands it to Louis, kissing him on the cheek sweetly before jogging over to the chariot. “I’m coming, Liam, keep your toga on.”

Louis sits back down on the bench as soon as the others are gone and resists the urge to bang his head against the stone. He is definitely screwed.

\---

Liam is fuming. He came out of retirement for this, gave up the peace and quiet of his island to help Harry become a hero. And how is the kid repaying him? Falling for the first pretty face to come along and shirking his responsibilities to sneak off and do who knows what. It’s completely unacceptable. Leaving Niall to drive Harry back to the arena, Liam circles back to the garden. He intends to give this Louis character a piece of his mind, but stops and ducks behind a copse of trees when he sees Louis is already talking to someone.

“You work for me! I don’t care if you’re suddenly growing a conscience. If I say I want Harry dead, what do you say?”

“I’m on it.”

Liam backs away. He knew this guy was trouble; Harry’s going to be heartbroken.

\---

Harry, unfortunately, just doesn’t believe him.

“Liam, you must have misunderstood. There is no way Louis is _plotting against me_. Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds?”

“I know what I heard,” Liam says stubbornly. “Niall doesn’t trust Louis either.”

“Niall?” Harry asks, betrayed. Niall glares at Liam.

“I said I didn’t want to get involved in this.”

“Tell him what Josh said.”

“Josh? Your muse boyfriend? What does he have to do with anything?”

“The muses aren’t really supposed to reveal too much to people; he could get in trouble for this.”

“All the more reason it’s important. He risked a lot to even tell you,” Liam states firmly. Niall still looks reluctant.

“Just tell me,” Harry snaps.

“He just said that you should maybe think twice about trusting Louis. That’s all.”

“What does he know? None of you know Louis like I do, okay? He’s not going to hurt me.” Liam throws his hands up.

“If you’re going to be this stubborn about it, let me make this simple for you. It’s either Louis or me. You’re on your own from here on out if you want to keep seeing him.”

“Fine! I don’t need you anyway!”

“Fine!”

“Guys. This isn’t helpful.”

“Shut up, Niall,” they say together before storming off in opposite directions. Niall sighs. _This is why I didn’t want to get involved._


	8. Speak of the Devil

“We have less than twelve hours! Don’t you think we should do something? That we have the responsibility to help?” Perrie can hear the pleading whine in her voice and hates that, once again, she sounds like the baby that no one listens to. Sure enough, Eleanor just shakes her head.

“It’s not our job. We listen to what is foretold and take the measure of lives.”

“But so many people could be hurt, Eleanor! Don’t you care?”

“It’s not about caring or not caring,” Sophia says, looking up from her measuring. “It’s just the way things are.”

“Louis could die!” A flicker of sadness crosses Eleanor’s face.

“I’m sorry, Perrie. You’ll understand when you’re a little older.”

“I don’t want to be older, then,” Perrie snaps. Tears blur her eyes as she rushes down the corridor, so she nearly collides with Zayn before she sees him. He grabs her arm to steady her and smiles instinctively before he sees how upset she is.

“Are you okay?” She shakes her head; angry he’s seeing her like this. The foolish young one, still burdened by emotion. “What happened?”

“Let’s get out of here. I need to see the sun.” He nods. One nice thing about being friends with Zayn is that it gives her an excuse to get out of the underworld fairly frequently. The muses are firmly of the upper world; he’s the only one who comes down here at all. Another nice thing about being friends with Zayn is that he doesn’t push. He just sits beside her, playing with the grass and making little flowers burst into bloom as he waits. “It’s just this whole planetary alignment thing,” she bursts out, suddenly. “Eleanor and Sophia are so calm about it, but it’s a big deal.”

“It is.”

“How do you just…not care? You know?”

“It can be hard. We spend a lot more time among humans than you three: inspiring them, encouraging them. But it’s distant. It’s not supposed to be through direct contact and it’s not supposed to mean getting involved with them.” Perrie nods. “On the other hand,” Zayn smiles a little, “it happens. The rules governing the muses aren’t quite as strict.”

“What are you saying?”

“I may have a way you can help. It’s not without risk, but…”

“Yes,” she says immediately. “I’ll do it.” Zayn hops up, reaching a hand down and grinning at her.

“Let’s go, then.”

\---

Harry’s less than five minutes away from where he left Niall when he nearly collides with someone.

“Sorry. Not looking where I’m going, I guess.”

“Hey, no problem,” they guy says with a sort of sleazy smile. “I’m Hades. You must be Harry.”

“Um, yeah. That’s me.”

“Great. Just the man I’m looking for.”

“Do you need help with something?” Harry asks, confused. “My trainer Liam usually handles…”

“Oh no, this is something only you can help me with.”

“Okay,” he says slowly. “What can I do for you?”

“Here’s the thing, Harry. I have a little…side project going, one that is running more or less smoothly except for one little snag. Can you guess what that tiny little problem is?”

“No idea, sorry.”

“You.”

“What?” Harry is completely lost. “I think you have the wrong guy.”

“I don’t think so. Harry? Birth name Hercules? Raised by Amphitryon and Alcmene?”

“Who are you?”

“Hades, but don’t worry about that for right now. Worry about this little proposal I have for you. I’m _suggesting_ that you give up your strength for twenty-four hours. Just one day. Easy, right? Tomorrow night you’ll get it all back.”

“No thanks. Look, I’d better go.”

“I don’t think you want to do that just yet. See, you might want to hear what I have to offer before you decline.”

“I don’t need…” Harry cuts off abruptly as Louis appears a few feet away.

“Harry! Don’t listen to…” Louis starts, before blinking out of sight again.

“What did you do to him? Let him go!”

“I will. Just as soon as you agree to my little deal.”

“Why do you want me to give up my strength? Are people going to be hurt?” Hades shrugs carelessly.

“I can promise you this. If you choose to be an ordinary human for twenty-four hours, Louis will be safe.” Harry hesitates.

“You swear? You swear he’ll be safe?”

“Of course. How about this, I’ll even add a little clause. If Louis is hurt, the deal will be off. Now, what do you say we shake on it?” Harry pauses to think for a moment, then reaches out to shake Hades’ hand. Immediately, he can feel his body weaken, muscles shriveling and head spinning with the sudden change. Louis appears again and rushes over to steady Harry. “Thanks so much, darling,” Hades says, grinning evilly. “As promised, Louis, your freedom. Couldn’t have convinced him without you, great job.”

“What?” Harry asks, confused.

“Louis was working for me all along. Now, I’ve got to dash. Wish me luck!” Hades smirks before popping out of view.

“You were…you were working for him?”

“Harry, please let me explain.” But Harry pushes him away before struggling to stand on his own.

“Just go.”

“Not until you listen to me,” Louis says firmly, grabbing his arm. Harry glares at him and shakes his hand off.

“No.”

“I’m just going to follow you!” Louis calls after him as Harry storms away.

\---

“No,” Perrie whispers.

“What is it?” Niall asks, urgently.

“We’re too late. His strength is gone.” Zayn and Josh exchange looks as Niall growls in anger.

“Is there anything we can do?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to think.”

“Let’s find Liam. He might know what to do. He has more experience with heroes,” Niall says.

“I thought you said he and Harry were fighting?” Josh asks.

“Well, he’s going to have to listen to all four of us, isn’t he,” Niall responds, voice grim. Zayn shrugs and looks at Perrie, who nods.

“I can get us there. Just give me a minute.” She closes her eyes and focuses. It’s tricky, using her powers without Eleanor and Sophia there, trying to isolate herself enough that they can’t tell what she’s doing. “Got it. Let’s go.”

Liam is about to board the ferry when the four of them pop out of thin air directly in front of him. He starts back, eyes widening in surprise.

“Niall? Josh? Who are these two?”

“I’m Perrie, I’m one of the fates. And this is Zayn, he’s another muse.” Zayn waves a little and Liam looks slightly star-struck.

“What’s going on?”

“We need you to come back with us,” Niall says. “Harry’s in trouble.” Liam’s face hardens.

“Oh no. He made his choice. I don’t care what…”

“Please! This is serious! Hades is marching on Olympus and Harry’s the only one who can stop him,” Perrie bursts out. Liam looks taken aback for a minute, but then rallies.

“Well, then talk to him. I don’t know why you think I’d be any help.”

“He’s lost his strength.”

“What?!”

“Hades used Louis as leverage to get Harry to give up his strength.”

“I knew that guy would cause problems. If Harry had just listened…”

“We don’t have time for that now,” Niall snaps. “You two need to work together. It’s the only way we’re going to defeat Hades.” Liam sighs.

“Fine. What do you need me to do?”


	9. People do Crazy Things When They're in Love

Things are not going well. There’s a Cyclops in the center of Thebes yelling Harry’s name, Hades has presumably taken the other titans to conquer Olympus, and Harry is still weak and unsteady. He’s trying to fight the Cyclops anyway and Louis doesn’t know what to do. He followed Harry to town with the vague idea of trying to explain the whole thing: his scumbag of an ex-boyfriend, his deal with Hades, the plan to capture Zeus, everything. It quickly became apparent, though, that they had bigger problems. The planets are aligned and it’s all falling apart.

The Cyclops lunges at Harry, who barely manages to dodge. He’s tiring quickly, has only kept the monster at bay this long with the aid of a torch. They’re edging closer and closer to a steep drop-off, Harry’s eyes darting as he calculates his next move. The Cyclops surges forward again and Harry darts to the side at the last second so it tumbles over the side and into the gorge. Harry sighs in relief, dropping the torch and shaking out his shoulders as the ground quakes with the impact. He’s staring forward, watching to make sure the monster is truly gone, and doesn’t see the column teeter slowly and pitch toward him. Louis starts running, yelling for Harry to get out of the way, but it’s too late. The column falls just as Louis collides with Harry, knocking Louis to the ground as Harry is pushed backwards out of the way.

Louis closes his eyes as pain explodes through his lower body. He’s completely trapped by the pillar but he thinks he managed to get Harry out of the way.

“Louis!” Harry instinctively goes to lift the pillar before remembering that his strength is gone. To his surprise, he picks the stone up easily, shifting it off Louis with barely any effort. “What happened?”

“Deal’s broken,” Louis says quietly. It’s painful to talk. “Hades promised that I wouldn’t be hurt, remember?”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did,” Louis smiles a little. “You’re one of the good ones, Harry. Important ones. Gotta keep you going.”

“You’re important, too. And good,” Harry says, frowning.

“You make me want to be.”

“I leave for one day,” Liam’s irritated voice breaks in, “and you two manage to practically destroy the entire world.”

“We had to do something to entertain ourselves, Liam,” Louis says, before squinting in confusion. “Am I hallucinating? Is that Perrie?” She bursts into tears when she hears her name, clinging to a horrified-looking Zayn. Liam sighs.

“Right. Niall and Josh, you two go with Harry to stop Hades. The three of us will stay and look after Louis.”

“And here I thought you hated me, Liam.”

“I do hate you. Harry _move_. We’ll take care of him, I promise.” Harry still looks hesitant.

“Go,” Louis urges. “You’re the only one who can stop him.” As soon as Harry stands up, Josh whisks them out of sight. Louis is left with a sobbing fate, a muse who has clearly never seen anyone sick or injured before, and a man who loathes him. “This is definitely not how I pictured my death. I thought there would be more explosions, for one.” Perrie laughs a little at this.

“You shouldn’t try to talk,” Liam says gruffly.

“I’m going to die either way.” No one contradicts him, which isn’t terribly comforting. “I can’t believe you came, Perrie. Aren’t you going to be in massive trouble for this?”

“I don’t care,” she says fiercely, “Eleanor’s wrong.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that. Just blame it all on me; she’ll believe that.” Louis can practically feel her snip his life thread in annoyance.

\---

With his strength back and Josh and Niall to help him, stopping the titans is fairly easy. Harry frees his father first so Zeus can take over defense while Harry releases the other gods. Unfortunately, Hades slips back to his chariot in the chaos. By the time Harry gets back to where he left Louis and the others, only Liam is there.

“Harry, he’s gone. I’m sorry.”

“Where did Zayn and Perrie go?” Harry asks dully.

“Back to the underworld, I think,” Liam says quietly. Harry’s head snaps up.

“I’m going after him.”

“Harry, it’s no use. He’s dead.”

“I’ve got to try at least, Liam.”

“How are you even going to get there?”

“Josh must know how, right? I’ll just wait for him and Niall to get back.”

“Harry…”

“I’ve made up my mind. Leave it, okay?” Liam nods solemnly and they settle in to wait.


	10. A True Hero

Eleanor is practicing the deep breaths her mother taught her when she was a tiny thing.

“Take in air and grow with it, little darling. Grow in strength and power and make the very air subject to your will.”

Softness has never been in Eleanor’s purview. It is a human feeling and she is anything but. Even the emotions of the gods: anger, passion, vigilance, selfishness, are foreign to her. The purpose of the fates is to govern, not to form attachments or interfere with the course of destiny.

And yet, she has found herself _caring_ about a human. It’s an odd, distant tug in her heart when she thinks of the world without him. For the first time, cutting a thread is not simple.

She could ignore it, she is confident, if things were otherwise as they ought to be. Hades is overstepping, neglecting his duties to selfishly pursue power. The dead have been poorly managed and it’s starting to strain the power of the underworld to contain them. Zeus is inattentive, allowing his son to be snatched out from under his nose and completely ignoring the problems Hades is causing.

Things are not going as they ought to, and now there is a living human in her underworld.

Eleanor watches as Hades gloatingly dares Harry to dive into the Styx after Louis. For the first time in quite a while, she takes great pleasure in her duty not to interfere. What Hades doesn’t know will most definitely hurt him.

\---

Coming back to life is definitely the weirdest feeling Louis has ever had. It’s sort of like waking up really slowly; a tingling starts in his toes and works its way up his body before rapidly dissipating. When he opens his eyes, Harry is hovering over him anxiously. Louis smiles up at him in automatic reassurance, and Harry breathes a sigh of relief.

“You’re alive.”

“Looks like it,” Louis replies drily. Harry grins so hard it looks like his face is going to crack. “Listen, Harry, I didn’t really get a chance to explain earlier. The reason I was working for Hades…”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter now.”

“Oh.” Louis looks down as his heart sinks. It’s stupid to be disappointed that Harry isn’t interested in him. He _brought him back to life_ after all. It’s more than Louis deserves already.

“That’s not what I meant,” Harry says, smiling gently. “I think you’ve more than proved that you did the best you could, under the circumstances. I don’t care about what happened in your past, Louis. I care about the person you are now: the boy who was willing to die to save me, to save all of us. You’re…I know I haven’t known you that long, but you’re one of the best people I’ve ever met.” Louis shakes his head, still looking down. “No, you are. You’re charming and funny and you just _get_ me in a way no one else does. I really…I really care about you, you know?”

“I care about you too,” Louis says softly. “In fact…” but what he’s about to say is cut off as a cloudy mist forms under their feet, swooping them quickly up to Olympus and setting them down in front of the assembly of the gods. Louis falls back shyly as Harry runs over to embrace Zeus and Hera.

“I knew you could do it, son,” Zeus says proudly. “A true hero is not measured by how strong they are or the glory they get, but by how much they are willing to sacrifice. Welcome home.” Harry smiles and hugs his parents again, and Louis turns to go. Harry deserves to be happy; it’s selfish to be a little sad that Louis can’t go with him.

“I appreciate all that you’ve done for me. My quest to become a true hero has shown me where I really belong: on Earth, with the people I love.” Zeus nods solemnly.

“If that is your choice.”

“I want to thank you for all that you’ve done for me, father. Without your help, I would never have found my place, and I would never have met Louis.”

“Me?” Louis squeaks.

“You,” Harry grins. “I love you, Louis. I want to be with you.” Louis doesn’t respond for a minute, blown away. Is Harry really willing to give up being immortal for _him_? Harry starts to look unsure. “I mean…if you feel the same way? I’m not…you don’t have to…” Louis just grabs him and kisses him, figuring that is as good an explanation as any.


	11. Epilogue: A Star is Born

Everyone gathers in the central square of Thebes the night Harry’s new constellation is unveiled. A tear forms in Liam's eye as he looks up at the sky; he’s finally succeeded in training a proper hero. The muses toast to a job well done.

"It was all our doing, of course," Dan tells a group of attentive Thebans. "He would never have made it past training without our inspiration."

"Some of us were more helpful than others," Josh says drily. Dan just glares at him and goes back to his exaggerated storytelling.

Alcmene and Amphitryon are just happy to have their son back. Louis was pretty nervous about meeting them because of the whole nearly-caused-their-son's-death thing, but it turns out inadvertently convincing Harry to remain mortal far outweighed that.

"We're just so happy he's back," Alcmene told him privately the night they first met. "I thought when he left that we'd never see him again."

At the entrance to the underworld, Eleanor stands and watches the sky with her arm linked through Sophia’s. She’s given Perrie permission to watch the stars with Zayn and the rest of the muses, so it’s just the two of them.

After Hades was trapped in the Styx, Eleanor made some much-needed structural changes to the underworld. Pain, now going by the name Ashton, and Calum have taken over many of Hades’ duties. The fates are left to spin and cut the threads of life in peace, and the dead take their well-needed rest without being used as fodder for Hades’ machinations. Now that the chaos is settled, Eleanor is quite pleased to see Louis happy and free once again.

Harry grins as the stars spin out and up into his likeness, pulling Louis closer to him and basking in being surrounded by the people he loves. The sky lights up as they all look up in one direction.


End file.
